I have a 14 month old daughter. Due to breast problems (oversupply, recurrent blocked duct, masititis, candida . . . ), over the last 2 months we had reduced our nursing frequency to evenings after I got home from work and early mornings. (She doesn’t nurse to sleep.) She has always been a frequent night waker, but my husband and I had usually been able to get her back to sleep with some cuddling and a pacifier. However, over the last week or so she has started demanding to nurse when she wakes up at night and refuses to accept any substitute. She also wants to nurse more frequently in the evenings and carries a pillow around after me as soon as she gets a little tired or bored. I am worried that if she nurses too much my supply will go back up a lot and I will be dealing with the blocked duct issues again. My husband is feeling bad since she won’t accept him at all at night right now, and I am starting to feel pretty tired from getting up with her at every waking. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Jill

February 27th, 2006, 10:13 AM

3beauboys

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

I am going through the same thing right now with my 14 month old! My guess was that it was due to teething. Please let me know if you figure it out and I'll do the same. I sympathize. I can't even image how you make it to work every day if you've been getting as little sleep as I have. One thing that I have been doing out of desperation is getting up in the middle of the night and putting on a video so I can rest on the couch while he zones out to the television. It doesn't seem to be as bad when he's not trying to sleep. Stay posted please.

February 28th, 2006, 09:37 AM

jillanne

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

Thanks for the response! Not glad to hear you are having problems too, but still, company feels good. Don't know what this waking and wanting to nurse all the time is due to . . . suppose it could be teeth again, or just wanting to know I'm there at night . . . it has helped to read some of the other posts from mothers farther along the road and realize that other toddlers also go through these cycles of increased nursing. On the plus side, the candida infection has finally gotten somewhat better so I am cautiously optimistic that we can increase night nursing and hopefully still avoid the evil problems with blocked ducts. I also definitely know those nights when the baby wakes up at 3 a.m. and wants to stay awake for an hour! That for me is the hardest test of my patience. Hang in there . . . let me know how your little one does, if it's really teeth or something else!

March 1st, 2006, 03:35 PM

LCsmom

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

You guys are not alone. I have a 15 month old and he too is a night waker. He is funny though, he will sleep though the night for about a week or so. And then all of a sudden for about 4-8 nights in a row he will wake up at all hours of the night. I have come to the conclusion that it is teething. He only seems to do this when a new tooth appears. And I also think that it could be due to a growth spurt. He also will start to eat less food and want to nurse more when a new tooth is coming though. My son just went for his 15 month check up last week. And he is now 33 inches long, and weighs 24lbs. The ped. said that he was in the 90th percential for lenght. But that he was only in the 45th percential for weight. I worry that he is not getting all that he needs. So when he does wake up I almost feel guilty for not nursing him. But wouldn't it be nice to once again get a full 8 hours of sleep?:eek:

March 2nd, 2006, 12:47 PM

3beauboys

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

Is that how much sleep people get these days? haha. Seriously, I hate those percentiles. They are always telling me that my kids either need to gain more weight or in the case of my middle son, lose weight and I look at my children and think they are perfect exactly how they are and if they're not okay they'll let me know. I think it's awful that they plant that seed of doubt in your head. Would you be worrying in the middle of the night if they hadn't told you that? The best advice my mom ever gave me was that I would know without a doubt if there was something wrong with my children. So far it hasn't failed me.
Sorry for the rant, I needed to get that out.
As far as the night nursing goes it's not that I mind him waking me up to nurse it's the feeling that I have absolutely nothing left to give and he's begging me for more. There are nights when I can't take my nipple out of his mouth without him crying and trying to latch back on. It's frustrating for me because I get no sleep and it's frustrating for him because I can't give him what he needs (I'll go crazy) . I just have to keep reminding myself that he will not be a baby forever and someday I'll be waking up in the middle of the night wondering why he hasn't woken me up yet. In the meantime, I'll be a zombie.

March 2nd, 2006, 02:10 PM

jillanne

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

That's OK . . . my daughter doesn't fit the percentiles either although she eats like a horse (both breastmilk and solids) . . . I joke that maybe she has a tapeworm or something. Fortunately our pediatrician is sort of a crusty old guy who has just seen way too many kids and so he never bats an eyelash. In any case, isn't it true that the charts are mostly based on formula-fed babies and that breast-fed babies tend to gain more slowly?
3beauboys, It sounds as if you are really getting no sleep these nights? . . . I don't know if it's an option for you, but when I get to the point where I've really hit bottom I give her over to my husband and go in the guest bed for awhile--even if she screams about it I just need to be by myself for a bit--sometimes she actually goes to sleep again with him, if not, at least I can have 10 minutes to shut my eyes in the dark (or to have a little cry or whatever). 3 a.m. is definitely not my best parenting time (for whom is it, really?) Hang in there . . .

March 3rd, 2006, 10:39 AM

wendyb

Re: 14 mo old increasing demand

Dear JillAnne,
I returned to work when my daughter was one year old. I was co-sleeping with her. I found that very helpful in letting me get my rest, by just letting her nurse while I dozed, and she would just go right back to sleep, and so would I.
I noticed that her night-nursing increased upon my return to work. After a few months of this, I decided to wean her from the middle-of-the night nursings, using Dr. Newman's suggestions. I would cuddle her, as she cried and fussed, and after a few nights, the amount of times she woke up decreased. I only did this for one feeding at a time, not all at the same time!
I think that her knowing I was there beside her helped to satisfy her need for me, which had increased after my return to work.